Debt Collection for Debtors & the FDCPA

Debt collectors are required to abide by strict rules under both Florida and Federal Law, such as the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act (FDCPA), in order to protect the consumer and the American credit system. The debtor must give the consumer a 30 day notice of their right to dispute the debt within five days of the first communication.

If the consumer provides a written notice of his intention to dispute the debt, the debt collector MUST stop all collection activities until it obtains and provides the consumer with verification of the debt. If you do not dispute the debt, but you ask the debt collector to stop all contact, he can only contact you one more time to inform you of whether the debt collection agency intends to file a lawsuit.

How Can a Debt Collection Attorney help me if I’m Being Sued by a Collection Agency?

If you intend to dispute the debt in question, Boyer Law Firm can help. We can negotiate with the creditor in order to lessen your debt or arrange reasonable payment schedules, or we can defend you in any of the Florida courts if you are being sued by a creditor.

Note: We do not defend debtors in small claims court (less than $5,000), but WE DO REPRESENT DEBTORS WHO ARE BEING HARRASSED FOR ANY AMOUNT OF MONEY.

How can a Fair Debt Collection Attorney Help Me If I am Being Harrassed?

If a debt collector engages in collection practices that are against the law, then you have a right to sue the collector for damages and a penalty of up to $1,000. If you prevail, the debt collector must also pay attorney’s fees and court costs.

• Call you an unreasonable number of times • Call you at any unusual time or unusual place • Disclose information about your debts to third parties • Use profane or other abusive language • Contact you after written notification that you do not want to be contacted any further • Claim to be affiliated with any governmental organization • Misrepresent the character, amount or legal status of a debt • Threaten to take any action that cannot be taken legally • Accuse you of having committed a crime • Threaten or communicate false credit information • Use deceptive methods to collect debts • Call you before 8:00 a.m. or after 8:00 p.m. • Call you, but not announce who they are • Talk to your employer about your debt • Continue collection efforts until honoring a request by you to validate the debt